Rental car company Hertz has announced a new public-private partnership called Hertz Electrifies, which aims to bring thousands of electric cars and data-based infrastructure to American cities. The initiative will begin in Denver, Colorado, where Hertz will provide no less than 5,200 rental electric vehicles (EVs) to customers and rideshare drivers. In partnership with BP Pulse, the company also plans to increase charging capacity at the Denver International Airport and Hertz locations by installing a mix of Level 2 and fast chargers.
Additionally, Hertz has pledged to develop a workforce training curriculum focused on servicing and maintaining EVs with local partner institutions, such as the Montbello Career and Technical High School and Youth employment programs in Denver. The company also aims to broaden economic opportunity by offering EV rentals with flexible contracts, which may lead to higher rates and lower fuel costs for rideshare drivers.
Hertz has already been running a similar model in Europe in partnership with Uber. In the US, the partnership between Uber and Hertz has been offering EVs for rent since October 2021, and claim that nearly 50,000 drivers have rented a Tesla through the program.
The difference with the new Hertz Electrifies partnership is that the company is now seeking public-private partnerships and has promised to work with cities and nonprofit organizations to put EVs and other vehicles into service in underserved communities.
The company has not yet announced which cities it will be launching EV fleets in or how many EVs it aims to distribute. However, Hertz previously ordered up to 340,000 EVs from Tesla, Polestar, and General Motors, so it has the availability to spare.
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